'Half-hearted' change to motorway plans condemned

This is being billed as great news for all those people in Port Talbot and the surrounding area who fought hard to get this decision overturned. But let's not be in any doubt here - this announcement is a half-hearted job that falls way short of the full overturn campaigners wanted, with nothing to prevent the Welsh Government ordering a full closure in the future.

What we have is nothing more than careful Labour stage management of a Labour-created problem. It was a Labour minister who announced the trial closure out of the blue and, when the scale of the opposition became apparent, Labour party members and representatives came rushing out of the woodwork to demonstrate publicly that they were on the side of the people.

This cynical opportunism is reflected in the fact that the minister saw fit to make a joint press announcement with the council leader - like her, a Labour representative - rather than inform local non-Labour Assembly Members through the usual channels. I've only just heard from the Welsh Government this morning.